Can you regain a housing association/council tenancy?

Robokid40

i have a rare medical condition where I’m hypersensitive to chemicals eg exhausts, paints, vocs from floors etc.  I have to keep moving homes until I find something that I can tolerate and there are plenty of places I’ve been which I can tolerate.

this is a physical condition Recognised in some first world countries with a lot of peer reviewed research to back it up.  It is not recognised in the U.K. yet and is dismissed as a psychiatric issue.

im under a lot of pressure now and probably going to relinquish my council tenancy and go private since I am not being helped on psychiatric grounds.  

Its possible once I present all the evidence or find a environmental specialist my diagnosis will be changed to physical.

my questionn is, if this happens, can I regain my council tenancy on grounds that I was unfairly forced to leave it?

Thanks.

wilfred30

Unlikely given that you intend to relinquish your tenancy rather than having been 'unfairly forced to leave it.

If your condition is not recognised as physical (rather than psychiatric) in the UK, I think it's a big leap to think that your case alone will change that.

elsien

Even if they accept your diagnosis as physical, that doesn’t necessarily make much difference. There are a lot of people with physical disabilities or health needs who are unsuitably housed because the provision just isn’t there to move them somewhere more suited to their needs. I’m thinking of people with mobility problems in flats with no lift, for example, 
It does rather beg the question though as to why if there are so many places you can tolerate that you didn’t stay put when you were living in one of them? 

I expect you’d have to go back on the list and have your priority assessed again. Obviously you won’t get your specific tenancy back because you’ve given it up as you don’t feel it’s meeting your needs. 

HampshireH

No because you weren't unfairly forced to leave you would have chosen to.. medical grounds or not. 

If you give up social housing voluntarily you will go back to the bottom of the waiting list if at all. At best you will be on it and not high priority. You could be deemed as having made yourself voluntarily homeless and not allowed back on the list.

You will lose any long term benefits you may have acquired depending on your tenancy type. 

Do you not check out your places before you accept them? How long do you stay?

If you have a social worker they should support any legitimate need to be rehoused but houses aren't just sat around waiting to be lived in and you are adequately housed in the practical sense.

Private gives you the choice to move frequently but you lose the security of a social tenancy 

Robokid40

wilfred30 said:

Unlikely given that you intend to relinquish your tenancy rather than having been 'unfairly forced to leave it.

If your condition is not recognised as physical (rather than psychiatric) in the UK, I think it's a big leap to think that your case alone will change that.

If a place is making u so I’ll that you’d rather live on the street and the council aren’t helping u because of a psychiatric diagnoses, wouldn’t you consider that being forced to leave or voluntarily relinquishing ones tenancy?

im not expecting my case to change anything there are doctors within the Nhs who recognise this disorder and will support accommodation move etc but most GPs don’t know squat about the condition.  My point is I will eventually get the right diagnoses but  especially with Covid finding a specialist, getting a referral etc will take time but I want to leave now.  Several months from now I may have a specialist letter stating my physical diagnoses.

Robokid40

elsien said:

Even if they accept your diagnosis as physical, that doesn’t necessarily make much difference. There are a lot of people with physical disabilities or health needs who are unsuitably housed because the provision just isn’t there to move them somewhere more suited to their needs. I’m thinking of people with mobility problems in flats with no lift, for example, 
It does rather beg the question though as to why if there are so many places you can tolerate that you didn’t stay put when you were living in one of them? 

I expect you’d have to go back on the list and have your priority assessed again. Obviously you won’t get your specific tenancy back because you’ve given it up as you don’t feel it’s meeting your needs. 

people with mobility problems are restricted bubbles the amount of ground and lift available properties. It may also take them time to get up the stairs or they may rely on a carer.  That beats not being able to stay in your home at all due to severe symptoms.  No carer can change that and I would imagine this get a higher priority than most conditions since it’s the flat itself that is making u I’ll.

as for begging the question, by stayed in other places I mean staying with  relatives etc.

 

Seashell517

Robokid40 said:

elsien said:

Even if they accept your diagnosis as physical, that doesn’t necessarily make much difference. There are a lot of people with physical disabilities or health needs who are unsuitably housed because the provision just isn’t there to move them somewhere more suited to their needs. I’m thinking of people with mobility problems in flats with no lift, for example, 
It does rather beg the question though as to why if there are so many places you can tolerate that you didn’t stay put when you were living in one of them? 

I expect you’d have to go back on the list and have your priority assessed again. Obviously you won’t get your specific tenancy back because you’ve given it up as you don’t feel it’s meeting your needs. 

I guess I’d have a higher priority than people with mobility problems unless the people with mobility problems are living on the street.  If it takes someone an hour to get up the stairs but they can then occupy their home or they have a carer who does shopping for th etc that is better than my condition from a housing perspective.  If I am severely reacting to the air that I can’t stay in the flat at all that is worse then struggling to get up stairs and no carer will be able to change my tolerance of the air.

as for begging the question, by stayed in other places I mean staying with  relatives etc.

 

You don't get to decide who is and isn't more of a priority than you, and if your condition isn't recognised then I doubt that you would get an increased priority. 

Maybe try arranging a swap with another council tenant instead of giving up your tenancy? 

davidmcn

It's not clear from your posts what is specifically wrong with the current accommodation, or what you expect the council to do. Are you saying they should be able somehow to ascertain which premises you're not going to be "hypersensitive" to?

Robokid40

HampshireH said:

No because you weren't unfairly forced to leave you would have chosen to.. medical grounds or not. 

If you give up social housing voluntarily you will go back to the bottom of the waiting list if at all. At best you will be on it and not high priority. You could be deemed as having made yourself voluntarily homeless and not allowed back on the list.

You will lose any long term benefits you may have acquired depending on your tenancy type. 

Do you not check out your places before you accept them? How long do you stay?

If you have a social worker they should support any legitimate need to be rehoused but houses aren't just sat around waiting to be lived in and you are adequately housed in the practical sense.

Private gives you the choice to move frequently but you lose the security of a social tenancy 

I try to check out a place before I accept it but due to an initially subtle reaction, masking by other smells etc I can’t know until you’ve actually lived there how much it’s affecting your health.

HampshireH

Robokid40 said:

elsien said:

Even if they accept your diagnosis as physical, that doesn’t necessarily make much difference. There are a lot of people with physical disabilities or health needs who are unsuitably housed because the provision just isn’t there to move them somewhere more suited to their needs. I’m thinking of people with mobility problems in flats with no lift, for example, 
It does rather beg the question though as to why if there are so many places you can tolerate that you didn’t stay put when you were living in one of them? 

I expect you’d have to go back on the list and have your priority assessed again. Obviously you won’t get your specific tenancy back because you’ve given it up as you don’t feel it’s meeting your needs. 

people with mobility problems are restricted bubbles the amount of ground and lift available properties. It may also take them time to get up the stairs or they may rely on a carer.  That beats not being able to stay in your home at all due to severe symptoms.  No carer can change that and I would imagine this get a higher priority than most conditions since it’s the flat itself that is making u I’ll.

as for begging the question, by stayed in other places I mean staying with  relatives etc.

 

It's not a competition. But in terms of priority, yes someone who can't leave their house safely (as you imply it's alright if it takes an hour on the stairs) would be a higher priority than someone who can't tolerate the air with no medical diagnosis (as you say)

Once you get your diagnosis maybe you would receive a higher priority.

Are you on our list and bidding (if that's the system local to you?). What is your band on the list so far?

elsien

Robokid40 said:

HampshireH said:

No because you weren't unfairly forced to leave you would have chosen to.. medical grounds or not. 

If you give up social housing voluntarily you will go back to the bottom of the waiting list if at all. At best you will be on it and not high priority. You could be deemed as having made yourself voluntarily homeless and not allowed back on the list.

You will lose any long term benefits you may have acquired depending on your tenancy type. 

Do you not check out your places before you accept them? How long do you stay?

If you have a social worker they should support any legitimate need to be rehoused but houses aren't just sat around waiting to be lived in and you are adequately housed in the practical sense.

Private gives you the choice to move frequently but you lose the security of a social tenancy 

I try to check out a place before I accept it but due to an initially subtle reaction, masking by other smells etc I can’t know until you’ve actually lived there how much it’s affecting your health.

If you are expecting your social housing provider to keep moving you promptly between tenancies until you find a place that you think will suit, I think you are likely to be disappointed even if you do get a formal diagnosis.